Walking Down the Produce Aisle

“Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them” (Matthew 7:17-20). When Jesus spoke these words, His point could not have been clearer. Every person or philosophy that produces bad fruit is evil, while those people and philosophies that produce acceptable fruit are good. Let’s assume the role of “fruit inspector” and investigate the “fruits” of creation and of evolution.

ABORTION—A PRODUCT OF EVOLUTION

A huge debate has been undeway since 1973 when it became legal for a mother to end the life or her child through abortion. Every year in the United States, approximately 1 million babies are killed through this process. Is it right? Absolutely not! The Bible repeatedly stresses that it is a sin to “shed innocent blood” (Proverbs 6:17). God Himself recognized unborn babies as human beings. He told the prophet Jeremiah, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations” (Jeremiah 1:5). God values the lives of unborn babies, while our society—in violation of God’s commandments—has decided that these precious little people do not deserve to live.

What could cause a person to look casually upon the deaths of so many innocent children without lifting a finger to stop this holocaust? The concept of evolution provides one explanation as to why these murders are seen as “justifiable” in our society. One evolutionist put it this way: “Among some animal species, then, infant killing appears to be a natural practice. Could it be natural for humans too—a trait inherited from our primate ancestors…?” When the idea of evolution is taken to its ultimate end, then killing a human baby becomes nothing more than squashing a roach in your kitchen. Millions of innocent lives have been sacrifice on the altar of evolution. And all who have had a part in these activities will “give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead” (1 Peter 4:5).

WHAT HAS THE IDEA OF CREATION GIVEN SOCIETY?

On the opposite side of the coin, we need to look at the consequences of believing in creation. If a person believes that God created this amazing Universe, and that He created human in His image, then human life becomes very important. If a person believes that humans have been created in the image of God, then that person (if he is true to his belief) not only will value human life, but also will seek to protect it. Those who follow the idea of creation to its logical conclusion do not cling to the idea that “the strong should subjugate the weak” or that “might makes right.” Instead, the principles connected to creation lead people take care of those who are less fortunate and weak because of the value of human life. People who strongly believed in creation established most all of the hospitals, orphanages, and civic organizations in the world.

Also, when a person believes in creation, he or she must feel a certain moral responsibility to the Creator. It is because of this “moral responsibility” that many atheists have rejected God. The famous atheist Aldous Huxley once said: “I had motives for not wanting the world to have meaning…. For myself, as no doubt for most of my contemporaries, the philosophy of meaninglessness was essentially an instrument of liberation…. We objected to the morality because it interfered with our sexual freedom.” In a world with no Creator, every person can do what he or she feels like doing without feeling obligated by any sense of “right” or “wrong.” However, once a person recognizes the Creator, then that person feels obligated to obey that Creator. This moral obligation leads people to help their fellow humans, be better citizens, and be better husbands, wives, fathers, mothers, and friends.

After inspecting only a few of the fruits of creation and of evolution, it seems clear that we need to take the axe to one of the trees—the evil tree of evolution.

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